Quite honestly, we have some simple rules as stated in the above link. We'd rather be in the shop than wasting time sending PM's and emails to people who can't be bothered to read ANY OF THE THREE MESSAGES we send them (their confirmation email, the conditions of registration they agreed to when the joined, or the really, REALLY, REALLY clear registration instructions) and who don't post a proper introduction, including a real first name, location, why you want to be a member, ect. FILLING OUT YOUR PROFILE INFORMATION IS NOT AN INTRODUCTION. YOU MUST POST A NEW THREAD IN THE FORUM LINK BELOW introducting yourself to the group.

If you thought you did everything right but your intro was never approved, you might not have given us a REAL first name. KP, JM, JN, DumDum, etc are not real first names.

TO RECAP, YOU NEED TO DO FOUR THINGS:

1- Go to your User CP (top blue bar above this, left hand side)
2- Enter your location and other profile information, found in Your Profile section
3- Put at least your first name in the signature, found in the Settings & Options section
4- Post an introductory post in the introduction forum (see the link below). The introduction should be more than just a 'New guy here' thing.

We have had very good success in keeping the site clean of spammers and other undesirables because the admins spend a lot of time checking out new registrations. We also are using a software package that stops most of those types of people from being able to register. We do this to protect the site and the members. It does make registration a little harder than most other web site but the efforts are worth it to keep the site clean. Remember we are not interested in the quantity of our membership only the quality of the membership.

All first time posts are moderated and only the admins and the poster can see them until they are approved for full membership. This is to keep any spammers out (notice you haven't seen any on this site???)

Effective immediately, any incomplete introduction will just be deleted. You are encouraged to just read the SIMPLE requirements and try again. You have a few days to complete the registration process before your registration is removed. You can re-register a couple times but after a few attempts, we assume you're not really paying attention or think you're too good to follow the rules and will block you.

REJECTED AS A SPAMMER???

We use a software package (StopForumSpam) to block spammers. It has worked great and blocks the vast majority of reported spammers by checking against this big database in the sky of reported spammers. Unfortunately it also blocks legitimate members who attempt to register with the same name that has been previously reported as belonging to a spammer, directory attacker, email harvester, or other slime sucking scum.

The quick and easy solution is to simply use another user name or add a number or letter to the one you use. For instance, if 'Coffee' gets bounced, you could try 'Coffee1' or 'Coffee Joe', etc. It may take a couple attempts but keep at it and you can get in. Once you've done your intro, and been approved, send us an email or PM and we can change your user name back to what you originally wanted. Generally speaking, we never override StopForumSpam.